Hexcel Nantes

Nantes, France

The capital of Western France, Nantes is France's 6th largest city, with a growing population. Nantes is located on the Loire estuary, just 35 miles from the Atlantic coast and therefore close to the beautiful and unspoilt beaches of Britanny. Rich in culture and architecture, Nantes also has lots of canals and waterways to explore that have earned the city the nickname "The Venice of the West."

Hexcel’s plant at Nantes was opened in 2008 on a site that was selected for its close proximity to Airbus, a major customer for products made at the facility. Hexcel's satellite plant strategy was established to meet customer expectations in delivery and responsiveness to enhance product quality while making the overall supply chain more efficient and reliable.

Hexcel's Nantes facility manufactures HexPly® prepreg tapes for Automated Tape Lay-up (ATL) and Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) processes. Prepregs are carbon fiber reinforcements that are impregnated with a formulated resin system. They are cured using heat and pressure to form lightweight, structural parts.

Typical applications for HexPly® prepregs made in Nantes are the Airbus A380 and A400M central wingbox and A340-500-600 keel beam.